By Paul Nicholson at the Edinburgh Sports Conference
September 7 – The transfer window just closed saw player agents earn more than $76 million in commissions England, once again the highest value market in Europe for football’s intermediaries.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 7 – Manchester City have vehemently defended their conduct in the transfer market after both they and Paris St Germain were accused by Spanish league boss Javier Tebas of “financial doping”.
September 7 – The CIES Football Observatory has published a full list of the transfer balances in of the 98 clubs from Europe’s Big 5 leagues. Just 40 clubs had a credit balance with Monaco at +€289 million topping the list and French compatriots Paris St-Germain bottom at a whopping -€343 million.
By Andrew Warshaw at Soccerex, Manchester
September 6 – Controversial Spanish league boss Javier Tebas says he will continue to speak out until the likes of Paris St Germain and Manchester City are properly held to account by UEFA for what he terms “financial doping.”
September 6 – Portuguese clubs Benfica and FC Porto top a ranking of clubs that have traded most profitably over the last year. Manchester City, PSG and Manchester United come bottom of the table.
September 5 – Transfer fees paid by clubs across Europe’s big-5 leagues jumped by 41% in the 2017 period to €5.9 billion with the Premier League clubs leading the way spending about €1.55 billion in fixed transfer fees and €220 million in conditional payments – on average about €89 million per club.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 4 – Despite insisting they have played strictly by the rules, Paris St Germain’s eye-watering spending spree during the latter part of the summer transfer window is to be investigated by UEFA for possible breaches of financial fair play.
By Paul Nicholson
September 1 – The just closed record transfer window means that gross spending by Premier League clubs has surpassed £10 billion since the first transfer window in January 2003. And according to industry analysts, clubs are not spending above their means – ridiculous as some of the amounts paid appear.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 30 – As the summer transfer market reaches its denouement and the spending spree winds up for six months, UEFA president Alexandre Ceferin has made it clear his organisation is not turning a blind eye to the financial excesses many believe are spiralling out of control.
August 29 – Barcelona were never going to waste time spending the €222 million world record fee they received for Neymar. But the fact they have spent two thirds of the money on the vastly less experienced Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund is already being viewed by some experts as something of a gamble with the transfer window slamming shut in two days’ time.
August 25 – With five days still to go before the summer 2017 transfer window closes Premier League clubs have smashed their previous spending records and there is more to come.
August 25 – While Europe’s top players were focussed on picking up awards and Champions League draws, Europe’s most expensive player, Neymar, was focussing on what he is good at, chasing down money.
By Paul Nicholson
August 24 – Manchester City owner City Football Group (CFG) has bought a 44.3% stake in LaLiga club Girona alongside Pere Guardiola, brother of Man City manager Pep, who will also own 44.3%. No value was put on the acquisition.
By Paul Nicholson
August 24 – Clubs that are relegated from one of Europe’s Big 5 leagues to their national second tiers will not be saved by parachute payments alone, that money will only soften the blow, according to research by KPMG’s Football Benchmark teams.
August 23 – Barcelona have announced that they intend to sue Neymar for breach of contract following his increasingly bitter departure to Paris St Germain for a world record €222 million.